Hameritis?? To buy or not to buy

[JochenP]

Hi friends, I need your help because I am not sure what to do....

So: I am intersted in a Newport. The seller send me some pictures. Where the neck meet the body it looks for me as if there was a repair... Seller says no... 

Could this be a worse case of  "hameritis"???? Or what else happend there???

Your opinion please!

 

Thanks! Jochen

[Frogburger]

My '00 Newport looks pretty much like that. It bummed me a little at first but I quickly forgot about it. 

 

[mirrorimij]

That’s how you know it’s a legit Hamer USA.  My Newport doesn’t have that but my Sunburst Archtop Custom (unplayed at the time I bought it) looks identical.  Not a repair.

[hamerhead]

I've had some that  look just like that. No worries.

[Steve Haynie]

It is a detail that you can either live with or pass on the guitar.  By this point in time it is not going to get worse.  Try out the guitar and see if you like it.  You will never look at the neck heel while playing. 

[kizanski]

4 hours ago, mirrorimij said:

That’s how you know it’s a legit Hamer USA.

Sad, but true.

[Bloozguy]

My '99 Newport Pro looks exactly like that...even the same color. A few years ago I sent a photo to Kim at Hamer and he basically said not to worry about it. So I haven't! Bought it that way back in 2007 and it has not changed at all since then.

[hamerhead]

Wasn't the trick to inject Super Glue in there and it magically disappears? Or have I been sniffing too much Super Glue again?

[Steve Haynie]

Super thin super glue has been the cure.  It requires some skill. 

[DaveH]

Personally, I would not give it a second's thought. Part of the charm of older Hamers if you ask me. Pizza day is worse, but still not a deal killer for me.

[mirrorimij]

Just curious.......anybody every have a set neck Hamer USA with a blended heel that has “Hameritus”?

I can’t recall seeing one but that doesn’t mean anything.  Talk amongst yourselves.

[gorch]

On 1/24/2019 at 10:10 AM, mirrorimij said:

That’s how you know it’s a legit Hamer USA. 

 

22 hours ago, kizanski said:

Sad, but true.

Yep, I have never seen this on a MIK Hamer.

Don‘t worry about buying a Newport just for this.

[JochenP]

Hello,

thanks to everybody! I have no more fear :-)

I´ve owned "dozens" Hamer guitars the last 30 years. Never seen that before! (Perhaps a small "line" between body and neck but not at large! )

Jochen

[kizanski]

12 minutes ago, JochenP said:

I´ve owned "dozens" Hamer guitars the last 30 years. Never seen that before! (Perhaps a small "line" between body and neck but not at large! )

Seen it many, many times.  Very common.

[tomteriffic]

On 1/25/2019 at 6:08 AM, mirrorimij said:

Just curious.......anybody every have a set neck Hamer USA with a blended heel that has “Hameritus”?

I can’t recall seeing one but that doesn’t mean anything.  Talk amongst yourselves.

Yep, a 98 Phantom Custom.  Had it bad.  A water-thin superglue job only partially cured it.

 

[mirrorimij]

13 hours ago, tomteriffic said:

Yep, a 98 Phantom Custom.  Had it bad.  A water-thin superglue job only partially cured it.

 

Was that a custom order?  Unless I killed many more brain cells than I thought (which is entirely possible) I don’t  remember those having a blended heel.

[Bloozguy]

On 1/25/2019 at 5:08 AM, mirrorimij said:

Just curious.......anybody every have a set neck Hamer USA with a blended heel that has “Hameritus”?

I can’t recall seeing one but that doesn’t mean anything.  Talk amongst yourselves.

A couple of my Mirage I's had a little Hameritis along the edge of the fingerboard but nothing at all near the neck joint.

[fasteddie]

Don't buy any more guitars, as my grandma used to say, "once you've got a couple of Phantoms, a Scarab and a Standard that's all you really need, put the rest of your money  in a work place pension", bless her she had no idea about the absolute necessitate of a Cali or a flying V.

 

[JochenP]

52 minutes ago, fasteddie said:

Don't buy any more guitars, as my grandma used to say, "once you've got a couple of Phantoms, a Scarab and a Standard that's all you really need, put the rest of your money  in a work place pension", bless her she had no idea about the absolute necessitate of a Cali or a flying V.

 

guitars are the best "work place pension" in our days. and you could take it in your hand also :-)

[tbonesullivan]

It all depends on you. I'm a freakin OCD freak about guitars sometimes, and that would probably bother me. Heck the finish on mine did this, also on a 2000 Orange Sparkle Newport. You can see a bit of lifting as well:

 

[fasteddie]

12 hours ago, tbonesullivan said:

It all depends on you. I'm a freakin OCD freak about guitars sometimes, and that would probably bother me. Heck the finish on mine did this, also on a 2000 Orange Sparkle Newport. You can see a bit of lifting as well:

 

Before the internet and high res pictures, we ALL on this forum went into guitar stores, pick up a guitar that we fancied, played it, and if we liked the way it played we forgave the odd scratch and ding on the body, but now we expect 30 year old guitars to look like they've just come out of the factory and IMO that is silly. Guitars are made to be played, made to be loved, made to be gigged they are not made to sit in a cosy guitar case in the hope that 30 years later someone might buy it again and NOT play it like their current owner. Please let's all stop being so fussy, you want it, then buy it, if you don't then don't, but don't let a microscopic mark put you off...with all due respect.

[tbonesullivan]

Yeah, I'm learning to not be so OCD about things. I can't see / or feel that issue. It's not an issue at all, but part of me wants things to be as good a they can be. I mean, wear happens eventually. You can't get around that.

[Camstone]

My Phantom Custom had a big patch just like that. In fact you can push on it and feel it move. Like a big bubble between the finish and the body. Doesn't bother me, just may affect resale value much like a finish ding.

[tbonesullivan]

1 hour ago, Camstone said:

My Phantom Custom had a big patch just like that. In fact you can push on it and feel it move. Like a big bubble between the finish and the body. Doesn't bother me, just may affect resale value much like a finish ding.

Yeah, it's literally the finish lifting off, and maybe shrinking a bit. That's why it happens so often around the neck joint. The problem is that troubleshooting why it was happening took a while, and also the actual Hameritis doesn't happen overnight.

[Bloozguy]

This is mine. Been that way since I bought it in 2007. Hasn't changed a bit. Just buy it.

[DaveH]

7 hours ago, Camstone said:

, just may affect resale value much like a finish ding.

Not for me. IF I were to sell one of my Hamers, it would not even enter the equation on what I would ask for it.